Standing on the Shoulders of Giants (15 page)

You may think that right now you know the mantle you want to receive, but be patient and give the Holy Spirit time to lead you concerning this. Most young ministers naturally think they want the mantle of the famous television evangelist because that person is popular and well known, but you can’t choose that way. Actually, the Lord will not give a mantle for ministry to someone who is not called into the ministry. There are five ministry offices spoken of in Ephesians
chapter 4
. They are the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher (see Eph. 4:11). There is also the ministry of helps, which covers a vast area of Christian service, but this is different from a calling to the five-fold ministry.

We also see in Scripture the mention of the ministry of reconciliation. But every believer is called to this ministry, which is to reconcile the lost back to God. Don’t let this discourage you if you want to draw nearer to the Lord. You don’t have to be in the ministry to be spiritual! You don’t have to stand in a ministry office and preach behind a pulpit to be someone who has a close walk with God. I’ve met housewives, plumbers, businessmen, businesswomen, and a host of other good people working stable and regular jobs who spiritually speaking would run circles around some ministers. Not being called into the ministry is not a handicap in your knowing God. God is no respecter of persons
(see Acts 10:34). He will reveal Himself in incremental levels to anyone who seeks His face.

Elisha asked Elijah for a double portion as we saw earlier in our study. Elisha was actually asking for a double portion to stand in the same ministry office that Elijah stood in, which was that of the prophet. Elisha could ask for this because God called him into the ministry office of the prophet.

It would be a waste of time for me to ask God for a double portion of the anointing that was upon Albert Einstein’s life to be upon mine. Why? Because I am not called into the career field of scientific and mathematical studies. If my old high school Algebra teacher were reading this, I’m sure she would give a hearty “Amen!” You have to find your gifting and calling in life and develop that to its fullest potential. There are countless mantles available not only for ministry, but also for every occupation imaginable. Someone might say, “That’s great, but which one is best?” The mantle that is best and the career that is best is the one that God has chosen for you! Don’t be concerned about what others may be doing, but joyfully accept whatever assignment God has for you. That is where your joy will be and that is also where you will prosper.

A person should be open to God’s plan. We are in a time and season where valuable mantles that have been captured and placed in the enemy’s camp are being taken back. You may be surprised at what God wants to give to you. The New Age has
stolen much of what belongs to the Church. Much has been lost through default because the Church stepped back from the supernatural and let the New Age take it. Even the term
New Age
belongs to the Church, for when Jesus rules for a thousand years upon the earth we will have entered a “new age.”

Once in a meeting I taught a message from Psalm 92 about how we need to be anointed with fresh oil. I read from the old King James Version because I like the way it translates that verse.

After the meeting a woman came up to me with a look on her face of fear and concern. With great trepidation she said, “Brother Steven, aren’t unicorns associated with the New Age? Isn’t that of the devil?” I couldn’t help but grin at her statement. Some people have developed such paranoia of the devil. In a reverse form, they almost reverence him—they give the enemy way too much respect. I spoke with her for awhile and tried to get her focus away from associating anything supernatural or mystical with being of the devil. Some people see a demon behind every rock. I prefer to believe there’s an angel behind those rocks. Others see the devil running around causing havoc everywhere. I see God everywhere, reaching out to reveal Himself to all who genuinely seek for Him.

The enemy has lied to the Church just like he lied to Eve. The devil has attempted to put fear in the Church regarding anything that is supernatural. Some Christians are even afraid of the rainbow. They associate the rainbow as being a symbol of the New Age. But the rainbow encircles the throne of God. The rainbow was in Heaven first and belongs to God and His people. Once I was taken up in the spirit realm where I saw the Pegasus horse. It is a flying horse that has wings. These things belong to God; they are His property.

Mantles to walk in the Spirit are falling upon the people of God. On the cross, Jesus purchased for us a full inheritance that includes the supernatural manifestations of His Spirit. God is beginning to move His people further out in the realm of the Spirit to explore the vast wonders of His glory. It is similar in many ways to what Marco Polo experienced during his journey to China.

In the year 1271 a young man at the age of seventeen left his home in Venice, Italy, to travel with his father and uncle to China. Marco Polo was very familiar with having seen the best and finest that the Mediterranean region had to offer, because he was raised in a wealthy family. He knew the Bible well and understood the theology of the Latin Church. However, there was another country far away of which the Europeans had only heard unconfirmed rumors. Marco Polo would become the first Westerner to bring back a full, detailed report of what he saw during his travels throughout China.

After a journey of three and a half years that covered a distance of 5,600 miles, they arrived in China at Shangtu which was the summer palace of the Emperor Kublai Khan. They were personally greeted by the Emperor, and young Marco found great favor with the Khan.

Because Marco was a gifted linguist and fluent in four languages, he was offered an official position in the king’s court. He was assigned as an emissary and was sent on special missions by the Emperor. Marco was amazed at the Emperor’s winter palace in Beijing, which eventually became the capital city. He described it as being, “the greatest palace that ever was.”

The walls of the palace were covered with gold and silver, and the hall area of the palace could seat over 6000 people for special dining events. It was also at the Beijing palace where Emperor Khan kept a stud of 10,000 horses that were completely white without any spot. The horse’s milk was allocated for the emperor’s family and for any tribe that had won a victory in battle for the former Emperor Genghis Khan. Kublai Khan also had seeds of steppe grass sown in the courtyard of the Imperial Palace because it reminded him of his family roots in Mongolia.

Marco traveled extensively throughout China on assignments by the Emperor. He was awed by the great military power and the financial wealth that the nation possessed.

China’s huge empire easily dwarfed that of Europe. But his favorite city in China was Hangchow. Upon Marco’s arrival in Hangchow, he was amazed at what he saw. There were landscaped highways, public parks, boat marinas, and vast
numbers of arched canals. Many of the arches were tall enough for large ships with high masts to pass beneath. There was an advanced underground septic and sewer system that serviced the entire city. Policemen were in abundance and there also was in operation a highly developed fire brigade.

Even the postal system was outstanding. There were three levels of expedited mail delivery. There was
second class, first class
, and
Top Priority—On His Imperial Majesty’s Service. Second class
mail was carried by foot runners who had stations every three miles. They would switch runners at each station. This system allowed a normal ten-day message to arrive within 24 hours.
First class
mail was transported on horseback with relay stages every 25 miles. But the
Top Priority
mail that was sent by the Emperor was transported by non-stop horsemen who carried a special tablet that was inscribed with the sign of the gerfalcon. At each relay station a fresh horse would be brought out for the courier with the Top Priority mail.

Marco said this system allowed the horsemen to carry a message to its destination of over 300 miles away in one day. In Hangchow, you could purchase paperback books, eat gourmet meals in fine porcelain bowls, wear garments of pure silk, and live in a level of prosperity that no city in Europe could touch.

Marco, along with his father and uncle, stayed in the Khan’s court for 17 years. During this time they acquired great wealth and riches. As the Khan grew older into his seventies, they decided to leave China or else they could possibly encounter a difficult time getting their wealth out of the country upon the
Khan’s eventual death. With the Khan’s blessing, they left and after several years of enduring the long journey home, they finally arrived back in Venice, Italy. They had been gone for 24 years!

Upon their arrival, no one recognized them. Even their own servants refused them entrance into their former villa. The Polos had long been given up for dead. However, because of the wealth they returned with, they eventually convinced some. Three years after his return to Venice, Marco commanded a galley in a war against the rival city of Genoa. He was captured during the fighting and spent a year in prison. This worked out remarkably well, because there was another man in prison who happened to be a gifted writer. At this man’s prompting, Marco dictated the full story of his travels. After one year in prison, the men were released and Marco’s story was made into a book. The book immediately made a tremendous impact within contemporary Europe. It was titled
The Description of the World
, but it quickly became known as “Il Milione” (The Million Lies).

Countless people read the book, but many questioned Marco’s stories. Such stories seemed outlandish and farfetched. His mention of “nuts the size of a man’s head, full of milk” (coconuts), and “cloth that can not be consumed by fire” (asbestos) and “vast wealth where coins are not used as money” (paper currency) were just too much for many Europeans to accept as truth. Marco went on to marry, have children, and lived to the age of 70. Upon his deathbed in 1324, just before he died, a priest urged him to retract some of his tallest tales. With his last breath, he confidently said, “I have not told half of what I saw!”
¹

We must go on with God. You don’t need to wait for your best friend, spouse, or a family member to make the move. You make the decision to move on with God. God’s moving and He’s waiting for many of His people to catch up. There are many experiences the Lord has allowed me to have in the Holy Spirit. Many times I’m reluctant to tell such stories because some Christians do not have enough of the Word in them to help them understand spiritual principles. In some meetings I simply teach the basics, because I know it would do more harm than good to try and talk about the deeper spiritual life if the people are not ready. Paul told the Hebrew Christians they were not prepared for mature teaching. They were still at an infant stage of spiritual development, even though they had been believers for quite some time.

But there are still valid, genuine experiences that do take place by the Spirit of God. By the grace of God I have met the Lord Jesus Christ several times in person. I’ve spoken with angels and have asked them questions. The Lord has even allowed me to meet some of the redeemed saints during my times of being caught up in the Spirit. On one occasion I met William Seymour who was one of the men the Lord used during the Azusa Street Revival of 1906. During this vision William Seymour encouraged me to pray especially for children who suffer from sickness, disease, and physical and emotional abuse. As I
have stepped out in faith to do this, we have seen the Lord greatly touch the children. I’m certainly not the only one these experiences are happening to. But for the most part I have discovered that the realm of the Spirit is a vast realm of spiritual reality that lays largely unexplored. We need more spiritual Marco Polos who are willing to make the sacrifices to see what lies beyond our present knowledge.

The same is true in the natural realm. The earth is crying out for the sons of God to be revealed (see Rom. 8:19). The natural creation longs to be free from the elements of sin. This is why Sadhu Sundar Singh had such remarkable experiences with wild animals during his apostolic journeys. His deep walk with God affected the natural creation around him. A panther, leopard, and cobra are just a few of the animals he met and dealt successfully with on his trips through remote areas. His experiences read like something out of a fairy-tale; yet they were real, and some were seen by witnesses. I would like to share with you just one of the many encounters this man had with the animal kingdom.

I have always loved reading and I’m a collector of hard-to-find books. Once I ministered in a church of a dear pastor friend of mine in Central California. After the meetings were over, he gave me a very precious gift. It was an old book in excellent condition that was printed in 1934 about the life of Sadhu Sundar Singh. The book was written by a close, personal friend of the Sadhu. (The word
Sadhu
in India means
Teacher
)The author of this book (C.F. Andrews) shares the story of an Indian man (Shoran Singha)
who was a personal eyewitness of an uncanny event that happened to the Sadhu.